Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

King Lear Essay

Good Essays
1494 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
King Lear Essay
Motifs and symbols are often used to enrich a literary text. Identify one or more symbols, motifs or strands of imagery and explore the role which they play in King Lear

Shakespeare’s plays were written in the Elizabethan era, which profoundly influenced his writing. During the Elizabethan time, there was the idea that God had set a place for everything in the universe, in hierarchical order. The Elizabethan’s called this, The Great Chain of Being. During this time if someone were to step out of his or her place in this divine line, it would not only be extremely uncommon but it would be sinful, inhuman. That power thirsty human would be succumbing to their inner animal, and therefore step down a rank on The Great Chain of Being. The Great Chain of Being influenced all beliefs throughout the Elizabethan era, and that is evident through Shakespeare’s writing. The symbols and motifs he used in his play King Lear, are undoubtedly connected to Elizabethan beliefs and views.

Female sexuality (or the lack of it) is a motif Shakespeare uncovers multiple times throughout the play. Besides Lear’s three daughters Cordelia, Regan and Goneril there are no other women in the play. Gloucester, Lear and Kent are all unmarried. Yet Lear has this obsession with women, or rather with the ungodliness he associates them with. Lear’s rage towards women begins when he demands for an undying confession of love from each of his daughters; the winner shall get the largest piece of land. His youngest daughter Cordelia proclaims to Lear “I love your majesty. According to my bond. No more nor less.” (Act 1, Scene 1 lines 102-103) Cordelia speaks the truth. Whereas Goneril and Regan lie through their teeth, claiming things such as “Sir, I love you more than word can wield the matter; Dearer than eyesight, space and liberty.” (Act 1, Scene 1, lines 81-82). Lear believes the untruthful words of Goneril and Regan, and he unleashes his anger upon Cordelia. As Ian Johnson said in his essay Speak What We Feel: An Introduction To King Lear, “The rage is the reflex power of a male ego that will not accept unwelcome responses from children, women or subordinates.” During the Elizabethan time, King Lear was the highest on The Great Chain of Being, besides the Lord. The fact that someone below him, a woman (women at the time were considered more like pets, and less like human beings) below him on the great chain of being and someone who is of his own blood would challenge his authority is absolutely unacceptable. He banishes Cordelia, which begins to create chaos inside of his head, which he later releases in the form of a raging storm.
Eyesight, in the right context can mean so much more than just the ability to see. Occasionally, it is used as a symbol to represent the inability to see, as it is in King Lear. Lear has eyesight and yet he is unable to see the truth. His daughter Cordelia, and servant Kent are in fact the people who are loyal to him, yet Lear’s ego has clouded his metaphorical vision. We are aware that Goneril and Regan want to drive him into madness, yet this is out of Lear’s sight. Lear’s blindness to the truth sparks his decent into madness, and when he discovers the truth it is too late, his decent into madness has already begun. Gloucester becomes physically blind in Act 3, Scene 7. Gloucester realizes he has become blind because of his own inability, similarly to the inability of Lear, to see the truth. He proclaims this in Act 3, Scene 7 through lines 64-64, “Because I would not see thy cruel nails. Pluck out his poor old eyes.” He is referring to Edmund, leading him to believe that Edgar was in fact was plotting to kill him when in reality, it was Edmund the bastard. In Act four, Gloucester and Lear meet again for a final time. Gloucester has lost his ability to physically see and Lear has now become insane. Gloucester’s physical pain is the physical representation of Lear’s emotion pain, and his physical blindness also refers to metaphorical blindness that consumes both he and Lear. It is only when Gloucester loses his ability to see, and Lear has become insane that they both realize the error of their ways.
At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to Lear as a rich and powerful man, we see that he values the appearance of being a king, but doesn’t want the responsibility that being a king entails. Throughout the play we begin to see his decent into madness, and how that ultimately transforms him. Lear’s decent into madness is sparked in the very first act, upon banishing Cordelia. As Ian Johnston said in Speak What We Feel: An Introduction To King Lear, “"The extraordinary speed and violence of his response tell us at once we are witnessing here an enormously powerful ego which simply cannot accept an external check on his sense of how he should be treated because of who he is." Throughout the novel, Lear is not only fighting an internal power struggle by trying to overcome his madness, he is also battling with his two eldest daughters Goneril and Regan. He is fighting to keep his authority over them, while they fight back against him. Lear’s blind to what would be considered an unnatural desire during the Elizabethan era that Goneril and Regan have, which is to step out of their place in The Great Chain of Being and to selfishly win power. Goneril and Regan question his power, and attempting to give Lear orders and by doing so they succeed and they are able to drive Lear into insanity. Unfortunately while doing so he releases his inner rage in the form of a storm.
The storm is a symbol of nature, such as eyesight but it is also another physical representation that Shakespeare is using. Yet this time, he is referring to the chaos inside Lear’s head. The timing of the storm coincides with Lear’s mental decline hitting its most powerful point. When Lear unleashes the chaos he cries at the natural elements “Blow, winds and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!” (Act 3, Scene 2 line 1). As Lear begins to become angrier, the storm becomes wilder and wilder. Lear is hoping that the storm will wipe away the people who have betrayed him. He speaks of violent images, and blames female sexuality to be the root of all things evil. He proclaims to Goneril “Suspend thy purpose, if thou didn’t intend to make this creature fruitful. Into her womb, convey sterility! Dry up in her organs of increase, and from her derogate body never spring. A babe to honour her!” (Act 1, Scene 4, lines 269-274). This shows, once again the speed and violence in Lear’s reactions, caused by his ego and manhood. Lear is unable to see his place in society, and he is blind to his duties and responsibilities. Although Lear is aware that he made a mistake by letting Cordelia go, he doesn’t think he is deserving of all the betrayal his family has shown him. Later on, during the storm he says to Kent “I am a man, more sinned against than sinning” (Act 3, Scene 2, lines 60-61).

This demonstrates to us that even through Lear’s transformation, his decent into madness and his vision being cleared Lear is still unable to completely comprehend the consequences that his actions had. By stepping out of his position of power, and wanting to divide the kingdom he was giving up the power that God rightfully bestowed upon him, in the Great Chain of Being. Lear only becomes truly aware of his mistakes, upon meeting with Cordelia a final time, where he too realizes the severity of his mistakes and would rather spend the rest of his life in prison with Cordelia, than have the appearance and authority of a King that he cherished so much at the beginning of the play. Upon hearing of Cordelia’s death sentence, the pain of living without his daughter becomes too great a pain to bear. When Cordelia dies, King Lear too dies of grief. The symbols and motif’s Shakespeare use throughout King Lear play an enormous role in conveying subtext and meaning to the audience. The underlying motifs, use of nature and female sexuality help the audience to comprehend more about the Elizabethan era. Using all the different symbols Shakespeare incorporates into the play, he adds a layer of physical and metaphorical meaning to the fairly simple plot of King Lear. By using clever ambiguity Shakespeare subconsciously influences the audience to think, feel or react a certain way.

Bibliography:
Johnston, Ian, Speak What We Feel: An Introduction to King Lear, Malaspina-University College, Nanaimo, 1999, Public Domain
Shakespeare, William, King Lear, International Thomson Publishing, 1998

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The primary purpose of Shakespeare’s “King Lear”is the tragedy and focus of the fall of a noble character due to a tragic flaw. Shakespeare’s main purpose was perhaps to emphasize on the idea that tragedies intend to show how our very own human nature can turn out to be our worst enemy. In “King Lear,” the reader gets to see how Lear suffers from his tragic flaw, which includes of arrogance and misjudgements. Because of his tragic flaw, King Lear makes bad decisions. When he announces his plan in dividing the kingdom between his three daughters he orders them to speak up and say which daughter loves him the most. He does this not thinking about the consequences; he expects Cordelia, his favorite daughter, to speak up instead Goneril and Regan…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Shakespeare, William. "King Lear." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1.…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear Essay

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the play, King Lear’s loss of the throne is his responsibility and entirely his own fault. Lear had hopes to rid himself of the burden of the throne by giving away the power of his kingdom to the daughter whom he feels loves him most. When speaking with his three daughters, Lear inquires “which of you shall say we doth love [me] most” (I.i.49), both Regan and Goneril shower Lear with flowery words and exaggerated lies. Upon delivering these lies to their father, Regan and Goneril are both granted power over parts of Lear’s kingdom. When it comes time for Cordelia to express her love she speaks the blatant truth enraging her father with her love for him only going so far as to cover “[her] bonds, no more, no less” (I.i.92-93). Lear’s excessive pride and arrogance does not allow for him to accept the truth, thus causing him to “declaim all [his] paternal care” (I.i.113). Lear’s injustice towards Cordelia, his only honest and loyal daughter is proof that a civilization needs justice to be a functioning society.…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    King Lear Essay

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Edmund is a manipulative and deceitful character who contributes to the outcome of King Lear…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Satin, J. "The Symbolic Role of Cordelia in King Lear." Forum. Vol. 9. No. 3. 1971.…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    King Lear Nature Essay

    • 1982 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Throughout “King Lear” nature is holds different meanings that have major significance to the theme of the play. Characters speak to it as though it’s a personified entity; they refer to the celestial objects in the heavens above and even to that of animals of the Earth. When the characters speak to nature, they do it as a means of justifying their intentions or previous actions, and also as a means of invoking it in some form. Nature is also used to describe the disposition of a character and the physical world with no spiritual bearing. We see that nature tends to hold many ambiguous meanings during the play; however they are centered mostly between nature that embodies the laws of the universe or that of a man. One instance of the contrasting views of nature is Lear and Edmund not holding the same views of nature as one another.…

    • 1982 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    “There’s the sulphurous pit:” Female Sexuality in King Lear King Lear takes a very negative view of feminine sexuality from the first scene. In line 15 of scene 1 when Gloucester asks Kent “Do you smell a fault?” (Shakespeare, 1110), the editor’s notes indicate that “fault” can refer to either wrongdoing or female genitals. Indeed the speech between them is rife with misogyny. Gloucester goes on to say that there was “good sport,” at Edmund’s conception, and goes on to call him a “whoreson,” (Shakespeare, 1110), thus indicating that Edmund’s conception was fun for him, but bad for Edmund’s mother. It is worth mentioning here that neither Gloucester’s wife, or lover are ever mentioned again, and Lear’s wife is not in the play at all. In fact all of the noblewomen who might temper their respective husband’s anger are killed off before the play begins.…

    • 1121 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear Subverts

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages

    King Lear, however is blind to these actions, and blind to the greed and manipulation of his oldest daughters. He only hears the lies and exaggerations of their faked devotion and affection for him, disproved by their later actions. Cordelia also says “I love your Majesty, according to my bond, no more nor less” (King Lear 1.1.94-95). She is demonstrating the patriarchal principle of the time, to divide your devotion between your husband and your father. By exaggerating their alleged love for their father, Goneril and Regan are defying patriarchal rule and devoting themselves entirely to the love of their father. They are manipulating their words and utilizing Lear’s vulnerability to fit their plan to take over the power that is still rightfully Lear’s, and they are benefitting from Cordelia’s honesty unrightfully banning her from the…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear Essay

    • 1323 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Throughout history, different texts have been interpreted in a variety of different ways, corresponding to the various values that these people believe are most evident and influential in the texts. The infamous play – The Tragedy of King Lear by playwright William Shakespeare - that is featured in this students’ edition, is a primary example of how a text can be historically endured through many decades and centuries and thus be exposed to a variety of different viewpoints. It is my belief that the predominant reason this text is still regarded as quintessential today, is the controversies that it features, particularly in regards to the final Act (and scene). It is furthermore my understanding that The Tragedy of King Lear should essentially be viewed in a Christian Humanist light however the viewpoint of Nihilism will be juxtaposed with this during this introduction to your students’ edition of the text. Finally it is arguable that the Nature of Man and the World (the presence of evil and good and the corresponding ramifications of decisions made by both of these entities on both man and the world) is the fundamental value of the text and can be critically analyzed effectively in the three scenes – Act 1 Scene 1 (the love test), Act 3 Scene 2 (the storm scene) and Act 5 Scene 3.…

    • 1323 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear Research Paper

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ideas of being Human in King Lear. This essay will discuss the ideas of being human presented in Shakespeare’s King Lear and the variety of representations achieved through characterisation and the presentations of themes.…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the tragedy King Lear, William Shakespeare tells a story of sibling rivalry, the necessity of human action rather than fate to administer justice, and loyalty and lack thereof among several other themes. All of these specific themes are eventually tied in with violence during the play. This use of violence allows Shakespeare to not only comment on his modern society (Elizabethan England) but to also reveal a darker side to mankind. Shakespeare’s use of violence in King Lear emphasizes major themes such as loyalty, sibling rivalry, and justice which in turn reveals how cruel mankind can be. The fact that characters from all levels of society take violent actions reveals how Shakespeare is really making a commentary on all of mankind rather…

    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his play “King Lear”, William Shakespeare uses multiple motifs over the course of the play to bring these profound ideas to the forefront of the reader’s mind, and create a deeper connection between the reader and the characters. Through the motifs of Eyes/blindness, Fortune/Destiny, and Nature/animals, Shakespeare sparks internal dialogue in readers and characters alike.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear- Self Reflection More than anything else, journeys are about the challenge of self- reflection. A man's journey to self-reflection is inevitably difficult. One will not become completely self-aware until he is able to see the world clearly. This un-blinding will only occur once the person has endured the pains associated with finding oneself. This idea is evident in the tragedy King Lear, by William Shakespeare. Both King Lear himself, as well as Gloucester are deceived and undergo an immense amount of suffering, both physically and mentally, before they are finally able to see the world clearly and come to self-reflection. This path occurs in the form of a cycle. A tragic hero will fall from his position of superiority to one of suffering and misery before he rises again, now with wisdom and knowledge. Shakespeare develops these ideas through the sufferings of characters, and the process of un-blinding that will lead them in their path to self-reflection.…

    • 945 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Lear

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages

    William Shakespeare tragedy, “King Lear”, was written in Jacobean times (1606) yet set in an ancient Britain approximately 750 years earlier. It conveys, through Shakespeare stagecraft and dramatic language, how the intense relationships which emerge from a monarchical society can become confused and damaged. The eponymous King Lear and his connections with his youngest daughters, Cordelia, and court Jester, the fool, are dramatized effectively to entrance audience throughout the centuries, as this essay will now discuss.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the play, King Lear is elderly and wishes to retire from his power. He thus wants to divide his estate among all his three daughters. His way of dividing the realm is done on conditions such as whoever loves him the most gets the largest share. This promise becomes the main source of the problem since two of his daughters structure some cunning mechanisms to win the kings promise. Regan and Goneril find it easy to win his heart by proclaiming that they love their father (the king) more than anything else in the world. He is pleased by their love for him. The third daughter, Cordelia, is very honest with her love for the king. She has nothing to compare her lover for the king (Damrosch, pg.1372). She also lacks applicable words to express her love for King Lear (her father). This attitude infuriates the king since his not ware that her third daughter is…

    • 1000 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays